New Week Brings New #1 To B.A. Top 25
DURHAM, N.C.—Virginia dominated ACC foe Maryland on the road to finish a perfect week and return to the top spot in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings.
The Cavaliers, who were No. 1 for a six-week stretch earlier in the season, have won their last three series and have still lost only one series all year. Behind Virginia, Texas continued its dominance of the Big 12 Conference, sweeping Oklahoma State to improve to 16-2 in league play and jump up to No. 2 in the rankings. Another ACC school that moved up was Florida State, which won a dramatic series against in-state rival Miami, earning the Seminoles the No. 4 ranking.
The weekend also featured a pair of crucial SEC series pitting ranked teams against each other. One of them saw Florida take two of three at home from Arkansas in a matchup of top 10 teams. The Gators moved up to No. 6 as a result while Arkansas stood pat at No. 9. In the other series, Louisiana State went to Mississippi and got swept by the Rebels. Mississippi’s efforts were rewarded with the biggest jump of the week—five spots to No. 14. The Tigers slid to No. 15 after their third series loss of the season.
San Diego and Rice returned to the rankings this week at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively. Both squads were ranked in the preseason but had fallen out after early season slumps. The Toreros have won six straight series and have gotten off to a perfect 9-0 start in West Coast Conference play. Meanwhile, the Owls earned their way back in with a sweep of Conference USA rival East Carolina.
The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of April 25 and do not include ties.
| Rk. | Team | W-L | Last Week | Prev. |
| 1. | Virginia | 34-9 | 5-0 | 2 |
| 2. | Texas | 34-7 | 4-0 | 3 |
| 3. | Arizona State | 33-5 | 2-2 | 1 |
| 4. | Florida State | 31-10 | 3-1 | 6 |
| 5. | UCLA | 29-7 | 2-2 | 5 |
| 6. | Florida | 28-11 | 3-1 | 7 |
| 7. | South Carolina | 32-8 | 4-0 | 10 |
| 8. | Georgia Tech | 34-7 | 3-2 | 4 |
| 9. | Arkansas | 33-8 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 10. | Coastal Carolina | 36-5 | 4-0 | 12 |
| 11. | Texas Christian | 30-8 | 3-1 | 11 |
| 12. | Louisville | 33-6 | 4-0 | 13 |
| 13. | Cal State Fullerton | 24-13 | 4-0 | 16 |
| 14. | Mississippi | 28-13 | 4-0 | 19 |
| 15. | Louisiana State | 32-9 | 2-3 | 8 |
| 16. | Miami | 29-11 | 2-2 | 14 |
| 17. | Oregon | 27-13 | 4-1 | 18 |
| 18. | Virginia Tech | 28-14 | 3-1 | 20 |
| 19. | Arizona | 28-11 | 2-2 | 17 |
| 20. | Connecticut | 33-7 | 6-0 | 21 |
| 21. | Stanford | 21-13 | 3-0 | 22 |
| 22. | Oklahoma | 29-11 | 3-1 | 24 |
| 23. | California | 23-14 | 1-3 | 15 |
| 24. | San Diego | 23-15 | 3-0 | NR |
| 25. | Rice | 26-16 | 3-1 | NR |
| Dropped Out: Vanderbilt (23), Southeastern Louisiana (25) | ||||